Beginning
by InfiKnight
Summary: Away from the living world, Ichigo has to start anew. New environment, new relationships and new people. Though difficult, he has to learn to be strong, or else he will never survive in the cruelty of this world. AU, OC, OOC-ness.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello! This is my first fic and I hope that you will enjoy what I've written. All events are AU, and though in similar settings, they are not quite like the manga/anime itself. I'm going to put the disclaimers once, I don't own anything. I don't think my name is Tite Kubo. All I own is the plot. Now that's done, read on!**

_A little stroll amidst a gentle drizzle, accompanied by the warmth of a beautiful mother._

_Ichigo was content._

_It was after Karate class and he was skipping home with his mother, using the route by the river. It was still light out, a sign that the rain would not last. _

_Curious and enthusiastic as he was, it was not a surprise that he spotted a girl by the river and decided on the spur of the moment that it was his duty to go up to her. He was in one of his better moods. He was not always the most sociable, but at times he would have a sudden urge to make new friends._

_Ichigo dashed up to his would-be friend excitedly, towards the figure in a white, flowing dress. The girl was staring out into the river, from what he could tell, and his guess was that she was feeling lonely. She would be a good companion, certainly._

_Ichigo's mother smiled as her son took off quickly- she had found it amusing. Most of the time, he was the socially awkward one who hid behind her as she spoke to the teachers. And now it was one of those rare moments that Ichigo had no apprehensions at all, probably a result of a win during a match earlier on. She half-ran, half-walked as she followed her son quietly. _

_Ichigo stared at the back of the girl for a moment and paused for a moment, suddenly left with fear of rejection. Would she find him weird? _

_Before he actually had time to ponder, the girl turned around in surprise. _

_Ichigo could do nothing more but stammer a nervous greeting as a bundle of nerves overtook him. Seeing her face showed him how pretty she was. Untied, long black hair fluttering in the occasional wind and the beautiful brown eyes caught his attention. Though with a beautiful appearance, it appeared that she was troubled as she gave him a sorrowful look. _

"_Hello there." _

_He remembered her voice. Tinkling, bright and deceivingly cheerful. At least, that was what he thought. Tongue-tied, he waited till his mother caught up to them. He watched quietly as the girl turned her gaze to his mother. "It's nice to meet you."_

_In answer, Ichigo's mother grinned. "It's my pleasure to meet such a pretty young lady. Pray tell, what are you doing out here, drenching yourself in the rain?"_

_Ichigo locked eyes with her, smiling at the girl uncertainly. Let his mother take over. She would give him time to calm himself down. But honestly, in the presence of such a nice girl, he was helpless. Nothing he did came out right. _

"_Well," the girl answered after a brief silence, "I'm here to fish."_

_Ichigo couldn't help but question her answer. "Fish?"_

_She stared at him for a long second._

"_Like this."_

_An intense, searing pain down the front of his torso._

_Black._

_Darkness._

It was quick.

**xxxXXXxxx**

Ichigo cracked upon an eyelid as he stretched, yawning as he awoke from a comfortable slumber. He could see the sunlight streaming through the window, lighting up the dusty floor and the man sitting by his bed- wait, what? Dusty floor? Man? Unfamiliar objects?

Abruptly he sat up. Where was he? This place was most definitely not home. All sleepiness had disappeared, in its wake pure panic. Where was he?

Ichigo eyed the crude work on the futon and plain, gray floor. As far as his memory went, he was rather certain that his room had a colourful wallpaper and the floor was parquet.

His sudden movement seemed to have startled the man he had first seen once he had awoken. He glanced nervously at the stranger. He wore clothes that seemed to be battered- rags, actually, and his long, black hair was rather unkempt. The dark brown eyes stared up at him sleepily for a second, before the man began to stretch, feeling satisfied as he heard the crack of bones shifting back into place. Ichigo stared at him albeit warily, yet with a certain amount of curiosity. He watched quietly as those slitted eyes opened to stare at him again.

"Hey, little guy." It surprised Ichigo when he heard a deep, yet kind voice. He hadn't actually expected any kind of interaction. But seeing how this man had laid him on a futon, he couldn't be that bad. Or could he?

"W-Who are you?" As always, he was tongue-tied in front of complete strangers. Not fearful though, seeing how he wasn't hurting anywhere and was completely fine.

The man grinned, reaching forward to stroke his hair roughly, causing Ichigo to wince at the touch. "A stranger." _Right._ Ichigo inwardly laughed at the obvious answer.

"May I know how I should address you?" His nerves calmed a little at the easy-going attitude of this man, he gathered enough courage to speak coherently.

"Just call me Aki. Don't need any formalities, it makes me feel old."

"Then… Aki? Where am I?" Ichigo glanced at the man, hoping to find some sort of answer from the smiley man. He doubted he was kidnapped… or was he? The unfamiliar environment was enough answer to tell him that he had no clue of where he was. He allowed his eyes to sweep through the room once more, this time focusing on more detail. On the left of his futon was an opened door allowing the sunlight to stream in, lighting up the whole room. A little in front of that was the translucent windows and dusty windowpanes. The wooden table held three lonely, wilted roses that were surely a beautiful shade of red a few days ago, when they were freshly plucked. A single wooden chair accompanied it, extremely bare as well. The floor, on the other hand, was just the floor. Nothing special. Just the ground which was extremely dusty, from what he could see. That left the ceiling and the futon he was resting on. He glanced up discreetly. A single oil lamp stared down at him blankly. And lastly, his futon. It was not the comfiest thing in the whole world as he was used to his bed back home, but it wasn't that bad. At least he wasn't sleeping on the floor.

"-district. Hey, boy, you listening to me? Or am I that boring?" As Ichigo finished his inspection of the room, he suddenly remembered that he had asked a question. And Aki had been so kind as to answer and jokingly reprimand him… Ichigo couldn't help but colour slightly at his fumble. "I'm s-sorry. C-could you please repeat that?"

Aki sighed exaggeratedly and repeated everything again. "You're currently in South Rukongai, District 65. It's known as Fugai. It's part of Soul Society, which is a place for souls like us to reside in. Here, there are 320 districts, and there are 80 districts in the North, South, East and West respectively. Right in the middle is for the Shinigami, what we call the first-class snotty bastards." At this, his eyes took on a steely glare at the wall beside Ichigo.

If he didn't know better, Ichigo would have been too afraid to encourage him to go on. Well, maybe he didn't know better, but either he prompted the man to go on with a little sound forced from his throat. "Aki, what do you mean by 'souls like us?" Ichigo hadn't found it appropriate to cut in into the little speech, and now that there was a highly uncomfortable pause, he decided that it was the appropriate time to enquire.

"Right. You're a new one, aren't you?" To that, Ichigo could only stare dumbly at him.

"It must have been too quick. You seem a little too clueless." Aki smiled warmly at him, padding over to lie beside him. Ichigo tensed for a moment, before lieing down again, turning his head so that he could see Aki. "Sorry to break it to you this way, kid, but you're dead."

Ichigo waited for the words to sink in. It didn't quite seem to fit in right. _But you're dead. Dead._ Dead. Dead? His eyes widened in shock and he couldn't help but panic yet again. He was dead. Kicked the bucket. Died. Somehow. This wasn't the Heaven he had often dreamed about, not all white and flowery and full of angels and the like, it was just… another place. Not a perfect place, simply a run-down environment.

"Dead?" Ichigo couldn't help but echo faintly, a little frightened. Then where was he? Why wasn't he in Heaven? How did he get here? "Then why am I here?"

"What do you mean? Why? Well, you're just here. It's as good as asking why the sky is blue. You're here, because you're here." Aki answered, a little exasperatedly. "I'm sorry but I'm not the best at explaining stuff. But well, it happens. When you die, you just come here? I don't really know the details though."

Ichigo stayed silent for a while. He tried to think back, right to the last thing he remembered. The sharp, searing pain. And before that, there was that nice, pretty girl. He had been getting his mother to talk to her for him and then, he'd died. Probably.

"Does it mean I won't ever see my mother again?" he inquired quietly, though he was quite certain of the answer. _No, no, no…_

"I'm afraid not. Even if she were to pass away, there's a very small chance that she'd appear in the same district as you are." Aki patted Ichigo on the back comfortingly. "I'm sorry for this. It happened to me a long time ago, too."

An awkward silence passed between them yet again.

Aki was probably not that used to these types of conversations and coughed. "From now on, I guess I'll be your new family. Don't be so sad, alright? You might have lost a family in the living world, but you have me now. I'll try to fit the role of an older brother." He was startled, of course, when he heard Ichigo sniffing a little as tears started to stream down his young face. Aki knew Ichigo was young, judging from his appearance, and he could tell this wasn't simple to accept. He _knew_. He'd experienced the same thing a long time ago, the only difference being he hadn't had anyone to stick around for him. "Hey, there are other kids out there who have to experience the same thing, getting a new family and all. They fit in just fine. Don't cry, alright?"

Ichigo desperately tried to wipe the shameful tears he didn't want there, sniffling as he struggled with the fact that he would never see his mother again. Not his mother, his father, his two little baby sisters… He didn't like it. It was unfair. Why couldn't he ever see them again? What had he done to deserve this? Aki was nice enough, but it wasn't the same. Every word coming out from his mouth made Ichigo want to cry even more, and he couldn't actually be a man and stop crying. He could only sob helplessly as his emotions exploded, his mind exploded, his world crashed down. Aki glanced at him uncertainly, arms going over to cradle the boy in his arms, gently holding him close, his eyes closed as he held the trembling boy in his arms. It was always hard when the new ones got here.

He'd never liked the cruelty of the truth.

**xxxXXXxxx**

It seemed as though he had tired himself out. Ichigo seemed to have cried for everything he had not, for the past, the present and the future. Everything weighing down on him had been washed out completely, leaving him dry and vulnerable. It must have been a long time, for he could remember those long arms around him, comforting him silently as he sobbed away. He turned, fingers rubbing his eyes as he felt the sticky tracks left by the salty tears earlier on. How embarrassing…. Ichigo couldn't help but smile, though. Aki had only met talked to him for a while, but he had broken down so thoroughly in front of a stranger.

_No. Not a stranger. Family. An older brother!_ At that thought, Ichigo smiled a little, his dampened spirits lightened up. He'd always been the oldest in his previous family, and it was strangely comforting to be the younger one, in charge of nothing and being taken care of. He kind of liked the idea. He smiled shyly, feeling the space right beside him. It was still warm, meaning that Aki hadn't left for long.

Clumsily, he climbed up and walked out through the door, intent on finding Aki. He didn't know much about his surroundings, only knowing the overall structure of the districts and the like. What greeted him was a setting sun, leaving the place with a beautiful, red-orange hue that he'd always liked. He remembered sitting by the sea with his family, watching the sun go down. It had always been his favourite scene.

Smiling, he wandered around, watching in awe as he saw what he had left wasn't a room. Rather, it was a little hut. He didn't know how he could describe it, but it was just a small house. Ichigo knew that he was used to seeing nice, big colourful houses and he wouldn't get to see them here anymore, but it was instinctive to compare everything he saw to his old home. The ground and the roads, the houses and the 'huts', the clothes and the rags- so much was different. He couldn't imagine all of this in the living world, as Aki called it, just like how he could not imagine this place in the living world. It was just ancient. The only thing that was similar was the azure blue sky, now pinkish as the sun descended.

Ichigo surveyed the area as he heard the sound of children's laughter tinkling in his ear, seeing many adults going about their life as they walked through the streets. Aki should be somewhere around here… He wasn't sure that he'd be abandoned so soon. He stuck around for a bit, walking around the area before spotting a group of children probably around his age squatting around on a patch of grass. They seemed to be discussing something earnestly. _Some company?_ Still uncomfortable and shy with the idea of speaking with others, he turned back hurriedly, walking back the way he had come from. He couldn't bring himself to talk to them, and desperately hoped that he had not been noticed.

Lady Luck, however, was nowhere by his side. He stiffened as he heard the rustling of the grass as someone ran towards him, and Ichigo stopped moving.

"Hey!" Ichigo turned to face the person who had called him, hesitant to meet the boy's eyes.

He could literally hear himself squeak a meek greeting. "H-hello." Ichigo bit his lip nervously as he squeezed his fingers, incapable of anything but feel his quickly beating heart. He'd never been good with people he had just met. People tended to ignore him for his bright orange colour that he concluded was something nobody liked. He could never find himself comfortable in the presence of others. Only on random, hyper days would he feel courageous enough to speak to a stranger. This was not one of those days though.

"So, who are you? Never seen you here before." the boy brightly asked, watching the little orange-haired child. He was a head taller than the child, and he was probably older by a few years.

"Eh? I-I'm Ichigo. I'm-"

"He's new. Hey, Grimmjow. How are you doing?"

Ichigo's eyes widened at the familiar voice and he whipped his head back, grateful for the intervention. He desperately needed someone at this time and he was so nervous, he was going to screw up any chance of friendship. "Aki! Where were you!" Ichigo quickly hid behind his new brother as he whispered shyly. Aki could only smile as he messed up Ichigo's bright orange locks with affection. It had been less than a day, but he could see that Ichigo was warming up to him nicely. That was definitely a good thing.

When he had first seen the boy lying on the street while asleep, a sign that he was a new kid, Aki had taken it upon himself to care for the boy. He had this instinct that kept telling him to go forward and help this new stray, and he had done so. Aki had let him use his futon, stayed by his side to make sure nothing happened and talked to him kindly. He'd done everything his instincts told him to and decided that he wanted to be a family member to him. Most of the time, the new ones were either alone or, if young, 'adopted' into families already around. Aki had been around for a long time without any relatives, and he felt it overwhelmingly lonely. It was probably what had probably driven him to take care of the boy. Ah, not boy anymore, he'd found out the name- Ichigo. Protector. Lovely.

"So your name is Ichigo, eh? You never told me! I'm hurt!' Feigning a stab to the heart of mock hurt, smiled as Ichigo grinned. "You never asked."

"Yo, Aki. He your charge?" the boy named Grimmjow gestured to Ichigo. "Seems pretty lost. New?"

Aki nodded. "Saw him this morning. Well then, we'll be on our way. I need to get him back and get him familiar with everything. I'll see you guys around, kay?" He added, nodding to the rest of children as they waved excitedly.

_So Aki is famous… Wow. _

It was somehow a foreign concept to be popular. He had always been discriminated for such an uncommon hair colour, something he had inherited from his mother. Having friends who didn't want to be with "the freak" were so many there were countless, and a select few who actually tried to befriend him ended up shunning him. Ichigo didn't think he had done anything wrong, but the truth was that he wasn't popular. He couldn't do anything but watch as prank after prank was played on him. It had become a daily routine. And Aki was actually nice and friendly with others? Now that was simply amazing. Phenomenal.

Aki slid his hand into Ichigo's own hand, considerably small in comparison, and he led them back to the hut. Ichigo glanced at his new brother, blushing as Aki looked down at him and smiled. He'd been caught staring. He'd noticed that Aki made a good older-brother-figure, with him being tall, easy-going and nice.

_It's not bad to have an older brother…_

**A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope this interests you!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Nothing happens. Not yet.**

* * *

Aki was the type to worry too much, as Ichigo came to realise over the next few days.

"_Kiddo, come here." _

_Obediently, Ichigo shuffled to Aki's side._

"_This district is considerably dangerous. Though there are a few who are safe to hang out with, many are hot-tempered and you're bound to get into trouble if you aren't careful." He lifted Ichigo onto his lap, to which the boy responded by giggling quietly. "Don't leave the hut when I'm not around, alright?" Aki smiled and ruffled his hair- something Ichigo realised that Aki liked to do a lot._

"_Okay."_

And so he was confined to the hut, with absolutely nothing to do.

The hut was empty. The futon wasn't much to play with other than stepping, folding or rolling around on, and the floor wasn't much fun, either. Aki wasn't around to entertain him either, to handle some business that sounded suspicious.

That left him with a large, empty house all to himself. Granted, it wasn't exactly big with ten bedrooms or anything like that, but the space void of life was depressing in itself. With everything of such a dull colour and even the flowers wilting, the boredom Ichigo felt quickly subsided into depression.

Being alone with nothing to occupy himself reminded him of how he had nobody other than himself he could depend on. In a foreign land in a foreign world, there was no person he could whole-heartedly trust. Technically, he did have Aki who cared for him, but it wasn't quite the same. He was still a stranger as compared to his siblings and parents. Nothing could compare to the closeness he had with his family.

Aside from that, the environment, too, was completely different. It was much greener and dustier than his neighbourhood. In addition, the overall style when it came to clothing and housing was so out of place that at first, it didn't register in his mind.

When he had left the hut with Aki a few days prior, he'd only let his brain absorb the information with curiosity. All else didn't matter but understanding this exotic new place that was less organised than what he was used to, but still held him captivated. It was a simplistic way of life unlike anything Ichigo had seen, having never left Japan for his entire, short twelve years alive.

Now that there was nothing to do, unwilling as he was, Ichigo had to analyse everything he saw. It wasn't necessity but instinct that drove him to do so. That little part of him knew he couldn't stay in denial when reality was so blatant in telling him that he had lost everything. He was a nobody in this world.

The most recent memory of the outdoors quickly flooded into his mind, painfully reminding him of the foreign land he was in and how frightfully alone he was. The huts all around him, the bareness of the routes, and the style of clothing- the sheer unfamiliarity of his surroundings filled him with pure, unadulterated fear.

Ichigo rolled around on the futon till he was face-up, the ceiling right in his face. He spotted various shades of grey and the occasional lizard darting across.

He was never one to grow afraid of emptiness and loneliness, because always, his family was out there somewhere, silently showing their support. He knew it. This time though, things were different.

He was completely, _utterly_ alone. There was no chance for him to meet his parents and sisters, or even attempt to believe that they were out there somewhere. How possible was it for him to meet his family again? What were his chances?

Ichigo couldn't even lie to himself when it came to this question. In a place such as Soul Society where thousands, millions, or even billions lived, if the odds of finding relatives were near zero in the entire history of this world, what could he do?

It was unrealistic to depend on the support of people no longer around him. Even if he did, if ever the time came where he could take it no longer and needed somewhere to support him emotionally, as was always the case, who would be there for him?

Since young, he had always been a bit more emotional than other boys his age. Crying at little things, just from losing a match or scoring low marks for tests, he had earned himself the nickname of "cry baby". It had become so commonly used that even Ichigo hadn't bothered to fight it out and try to prevent the atrocious use of the name from spreading.

As unmanly as it was, he didn't really mind the names as long as he had his mother around. Ever since Karin was born, all attention was focused on her. Inevitably, Ichigo would get envious, sometimes being a little mean by stealing the little baby's stuffed giraffe. Of course, he did feel guilty in the end, though, giving in and returning the toy and teasing her with it. That defeated the purpose of taking away the giraffe in the first place, but he couldn't help but feel that he was being awfully immature.

That aside, the crying reminded his mother of his existence and that he may be older, but he still wanted to be loved and pampered.

She always complied.

With no exception, she would always run her fingers through his orange spikes, whispering comforting words to him, engulfing him in comfortable warmth. He remembered it well. Unlike his father, always loud and unhelpful in making him feel better, she was soft, quiet and the type who would simply hold him close and waited for him to calm down. Sometimes, people needed the silence- something his father would never realise.

What was with the random outbursts his father had? Even during trips to the beach for picnics, he would run around on the sand, furiously chasing down Ichigo, claiming it to be some solid exercise in preparation for the future athlete he saw in his son. What kind of reason was that? More often than not, he was mad as his father for being so infuriating that it wasn't something he could laugh at. Being exposed to these antics for long periods of time didn't seem to do his IQ nor EQ any good.

Then came the topic of wooden tops.

His father found it amusing to tease him and annoy him over wooden tops. How ridiculous was that?

He could replay the scene in his mind, the memory so vivid it could have happened just a day before.

_Loud chuckles erupted from his father as Ichigo growled. The frustrating old man had deliberately stuck a finger out, hindering the spinning top's movement and closely watched for his reaction. As the top's impressive swirling came to an abrupt end, he had let anger get the better of him and complained to his mother of his apparent annoyance. The childish punches as he tried to convey his exasperation made his anger explode, for no matter how hard, how many times he hit his father, there was still that endearing smile and deep laughter rumbling in his throat. _

Ichigo grinned to himself, realising how silly it had been of him to get mad over such an insignificant matter.

The hot prickling in his eyes informed him that tears had gathered in his eyes even as he smiled, the realisation that everything he had taken for granted was actually important to him. What was gone was forever gone. Even if he reached for it, what he grabbed would only be like picking up sand, fine grains disappearing between his fingers.

It hurt.

He couldn't hold the smile plastered on his face any longer. It quickly morphed into the face of a child lost and in despair, and little sobs began to sound in the dim, empty hut.

xxxXXXxxx

It was later in the afternoon that Aki returned, as was his routine. He brought with him a whole lot of wild flowers, with petal size ranging from extra Small to Large.

By then, Ichigo would have no energy to speak to the man. Every morning, the man left for his business. Every day, Ichigo would lose the cheerfulness he once possessed.

At first, it had been mild and almost unnoticeable. That was the time when the truth hadn't fully sunk in.

Days passed, and the hours that Ichigo was left alone gradually increased. With the extra time came the thoughts, and by afternoon, he would always be downright miserable.

It wasn't his fault! Why did he have to go through all of this? Why wasn't it someone else? Why specifically him of all people? Where had he gone wrong? He'd thought through this questions countless times, seeking the answer for this unfairness.

Every single memory of his wrongdoing came to mind, but nothing he did- nothing warranted such treatment!

At that very instant, a sudden flashback took him by surprise.

The girl…

"_Well," the girl answered after a brief silence, "I'm here to fish."_

_Ichigo couldn't help but question her answer. "Fish?"_

_She stared at him for a long second._

"_Like this."_

_An intense, searing pain down the front of his torso._

_Black._

_Darkness._

It was mortifying just thinking about it. It had been days or weeks since that attack, but the scene always replayed in his mind, attaching itself to him like a plague. He refused to think too much into the matter, ignoring it so that it remained in the deepest corner of his mind.

It would be ignored and considered forbidden territory. It was the direct cause of him being in this place, and he was sure that he would garner hatred towards that girl. He didn't mind, but as his mother had often told him, "Do not hate, for it will only destroy your life." He would take her advice, but that one day when he found the courage, he would thoroughly investigate it.

It was not only the hatred, but also the fear of what he might find out. The unknown was dangerous, after all.

He smiled wryly at how professional and cool he had just sounded in his mind. There was a sense of achievement that he'd been able to come up with the intelligent sounding questions and thoughts. After all, results-wise, he was always somewhere at the back.

"-go, oi! Kid! Hello, anyone home?" Aki called, shoving the flowers in Ichigo's face. "Damn, kid, how many times have you spaced out on me? You sure you okay?"

Slightly irritated, Ichigo grabbed the flowers and begun to inspect them wordlessly. "I'm okay." He got up from the futon and replaced the wilted roses with a random assortment of flowers. He'd never been into flower arrangement and tried his best imitating bouquets by memory.

"Of course you're okay. When are you not okay?" Ichigo had been moping around for the past weeks and to tell the truth, Aki was getting slightly irritated. True, he needed space, and that's what he'd been given. The only problem was that everything had backfired. Instead of being enlightened and moving on, Ichigo was still stuck in this depressing pool.

He crossed the room and promptly seated himself on the chair, by the table where Ichigo was figuring out which flowers to use. It had been little more than a month since he had found the boy, but he had changed so quickly that it was frightening.

How could it be the same boy that had been so adorable, blushing lightly at all forms of affection he had shown? How could it be the same person who had been so nervous while speaking to him? The person in front of him was mature and quiet, easily irritated and especially so when interrupted while deep in thought. None of that childishness remained, leaving only a solemn boy who bottled up his emotions.

In the first week, Aki had had to comfort him every night as he bawled his heart out. It was a difficult period, and he spent as much time as he could around Ichigo in case he needed someone around. He knew, because he had experienced the very same things many years ago.

In the second week, Ichigo seemed to have resigned himself to the fact that he would no longer be able to see his family. By then, trust had built between him and Aki, and the time they spent together was less of crying and more of comforting. Occasionally, he would burst into tears as he mourned, biting his lip to stifle his whimpers. Attentive, Aki had pulled him into a hug and assured him that he didn't mind- as long as he felt better after that, patting his back at regular intervals.

By the third week, Ichigo was no longer the cry baby. Perhaps he had grown tired of being so weak, perhaps he had pulled himself together, but he had quickly transformed into someone that Aki was a stranger to. He was no longer the clingy child who could not sleep for hours at night, tossing and turning and needing Aki by his side to calm him down.

The new Ichigo was frightening. He had calmly requested that Aki leave, saying that he was alright and smiling with that childish innocence that Aki had so dearly missed.

He knew the wounds of losing someone close could never close so quickly and with such ease, and he did as Ichigo requested. The orange-haired boy was ten, but he was forced to mature much faster than others his age. At that age, already beginning to understand beyond shallow emotions and experiences, Aki had noticed that the boy was something more than just a shy child. Most likely, he had a reason for acting as though starved of attention. Aside from that fact was much more mature than any others he had seen.

Aki had decided to partially return to his normal life, leaving Ichigo alone at home in the mornings. So far, Ichigo had expressed no desire to leave the hut and aside from that one walk weeks ago, he had not taken a step out of the hut.

Well, cooping oneself in the hut was a way to deal with grief, probably.

Aki raised his eyebrows as Ichigo used a flower with a particularly long stalk and wrapped it around the bunch of flowers that had been chosen. That didn't make much sense to him since it was going to be in the vase anyway, but he just let it go.

"Kiddo, what are you going to do with the rest of the flowers? You look you've got plans for them."

"Do I?" Ichigo did the 'final touches' on the flowers and stuffed them into the vase as he replied sceptically. It was a bad job well done. He knew it looked terrible. "How's it?"

"Looking especially bad." Aki grinned, reaching out to poke a blue petal sticking out. "I'm joking. It's just a random guess."

Ichigo gave him the half-annoyed, half-amused look, ending up with a face that made Aki crack up. He rolled his eyes, mood already lightened, and begun to inspect the flowers.

It pleased Aki, knowing Ichigo had not lost his sense of humour. Usually, the child was gloomy and unwilling to speak but on rare days, he would be much more cheerful than before. Joking around was one of the signs of a good mood.

As compared to the first week, he had grown to be more reserved. This ordeal for him was difficult, and Ichigo had not escaped from it completely unscathed. There was a new look to his eyes, now.

It wasn't his physique, but there was something about him that Aki couldn't really identify that had changed. That glint was not particularly frightening, but it showed a hardness that didn't develop till one was well beyond his age.

Aki knew that Ichigo was intelligent, from his conversations with the child. They had often spoken about various subjects with concepts that were not simple to grasp. What was life? What was the meaning and significance of life? Was living in Soul Society 'life' or 'death'?

Ichigo seemed to have decided on something.

At any rate, Aki was content that Ichigo had successfully gotten over the loss of his family, and decided not to probe further.

xxxXXXxxx

It took Ichigo a grand total of three months and fourteen days to be able to handle his grief well.

By Aki's definition, 'well' meant 'acting one's age'. That meant a lot of laughter and a lot of excess energy on Ichigo's part. It was tiring work being young.

It was a rather surprisingly quick transition overall. Ichigo had entered Soul Society like all other souls did, naïve and confused. Though young, he'd been able to cope with the loss of his family without reliance on others, and with a lot of crying, he'd grown stronger.

At one point, he had been so quiet and moody it made Aki and the people around the latter depressed as well. It took some time, but Ichigo managed to lift himself out of that seemingly bottomless pit.

Ichigo was strong.

* * *

**A/N: Hi! Just in case you're wondering how possible it is for a human to mature this quickly, rest assured, it will be explained in later chapters. Changes in the behaviour (no more giggly kiddy) may seem a bit too extreme as well, but it isn't random. **

**(Is there anyone willing to help me beta? I'd really appreciate it!)**


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